Wasteland Christmas Decoration Shenanigans
by CapriTheBunny
Summary: Nora decides to decorate Sanctuary just in time for Christmas. Shaun may or may not have a crush, and Deacon spikes the eggnog-in-progress.


Nora wasn't quite sure how Christmas was celebrated in the Commonwealth. Her first Christmas was spent mourning her husband and finding her son, along with all the other things she somehow got dragged into, so she hadn't had time to really see how the holiday was spent. So, who better to ask than the people who were the main light in her life.

…As it turns out, it's relatively the same as in her time. Well, minus a few things like the candy canes, proper eggnog (she and Deacon have been experimenting with ingredients… it's still an ongoing process), and the Christmas pudding. Still, it was Christmas; in fact, she, Piper, Curie, and Preston had spent the last week or so finding a tree to decorate. Nora found a rather well-preserved ten-foot-tall tree; this said tree was now erected in the middle of Sanctuary, where the settlers, herself, and her companions alike had spent a number of hours figuring out what to decorate it with. In the end it wasn't half-bad; Nora had been to a few glass-blowing classes, and manipulating wood, clay, and metal weren't that hard. While it didn't look like the trees she was used to, it was rather beautiful.

"It would be a real shame if it was knocked over. Just sayin'." Deacon lightly placed a hand on her back.

"Deacon, if this is your way of saying you're going to knock over the tree-"

"What? Me? I would never. On purpose, that is." She could see a ginger eyebrow wriggle at her over his ever-present sunglasses.

"Good. Cause if you did, I'd kick you out of the bed and have you sleep back at HQ."

"Ouch, woman. Why do you wound me?"

"Oh, you thought that was _all?_ Oh no, I planned to hint to Tom I suspected you consumed some of that pink goop from Suffolk." Deacon let out a shocked gasp.

"Oh, Tom would have a field day. By the end of it, I'd have to be given at least four of his serum shots, several probings, and a few electric shocks for good measure." Nora laughed, lightly leaning against him. He lightly rubbed her back, and gently pressed for her to turn towards her house.

"Shaun has been nonstop asking me when are we putting up decorations. I didn't know we even _had_ decorations, so I told him after we go fight the super mutants who stole them from Red Rocket. I don't think he believed me." Nora snorted as she started walking to her home, lightly elbowing Deacon in the side.

"Yeah, I think he stopped believing you when you told him the story about you, a deathclaw, and a junkjet filled with Fancy Lad cakes." Deacon snorted, coming to a halt.

"I'll have you know that story is _completely_ true. The deathclaw decided snack cakes were more delicious than my less-than-filling self." Nora raised a single eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Uh huh. Yet, the last time you tried doing that, the deathclaw rushed us, and even after we had gotten into a safe place it took a single sniff at the cakes and then stomped them."

"Yeah, but everything has its own preferences. Maybe that one preferred a meatier treat than an overtly sugary one."

"This is why Piper put a laxative in your Nuka Cola the last time you insisted this story was true." With this, Nora hurried in with the slightest of grins on her face, leaving a surprisingly speechless Deacon outside in the middle of the street.

As Nora helped Shaun pin the last strand of popcorn string to his room's upper walls, she could hear Nick, Deacon, and Curie arguing over the eggnog. Apparently, an entire bottle of rum into the serving bowl was just a tad too much alcohol.

"Aaand, done." Shaun said as he tied off the end of the popcorn string to a nail. Nora knelt down, letting him slip off her shoulders.

"Yep, all done. You wanna get started on the wreathes next, sweetie?" Nora stood, and lead Shaun back to the living room, where the eggnog conversation was still audible from the serving house next door.

"Yeah! Can we put one on Dogmeat?" Dogmeat, who had been nibbling on his teddy bear in the doorway, perked his head up at the sound of his name. The teddy bear made a soft 'wump' as it landed on the ground. Nora laughed, and nodded.

"I suppose so. We could even make one for everyone, too." Nora decided against saying they may not wear them; knowing her closest friends, it was a hit or miss. Shaun nodded, rambling out ideas on how to make each one different than the other.

Nora was no stranger to hand cramps. However, after making enough wreathes for every single person in Sanctuary, she now knew a whole new level of hand cramping. Though, making the small boughs of mistletoe (mainly from recolored and reshaped recycled plastic… same for the wreathes) probably hadn't helped. Shaun had giggled the entire time; when Nora had asked why, he avoided an answer until she tickled it out of him. Nick had told him that in the old days there was a tradition where if two people met under a mistletoe, they kissed. On saying this, Shaun became much quieter and red in the face.

After placing both wreathes and mistletoes, and tucking Shaun in to bed, Nora sighed and went back to the living room. As she was leaving the hallway, she felt a hand on her arm pull her to a stop. She looked over, and saw Deacon looking at the mistletoe she had glued to the hallway end ceiling earlier.

"I actually thought people were kidding when I heard you and Shaun had been placing mistletoe in random places around Sanctuary." Nora chuckled and turned to face him. She gently pulled her arm out of his grip and instead placed both arms around his neck loosely.

"Aww, c'mon Deek. You know me, the hopeless romantic." He laughed, and pushed his sunglasses up onto his wig. He lightly pressed his hands against her back, pushing her closer to him.

"Hopeless romantic, huh? What does that make me, the less-shiny, non-armored knight?" Nora giggled, leaned in with a sly grin on her face.

"Nah, it makes you the knight with a shiny, bald head." He half-snorted, half-chuckled, pretending to take offense.

"I am _not_ bald. I simply shave my head; makes it easier to put on my stylish outfits. But, hey, if you prefer full hair-" Nora shook her head, and pecked a kiss onto his nose.

"I think I'll take my non-bald, bald beloved any day. Now, are you going to kiss me, or should I-" Deacon cut her off, placing a soft kiss to her lips, his hand cupping her cheek gently. Even though Deacon would never admit it, Nora was sure he was a romantic, too.


End file.
